In preparing to write to my readers about successful and failed American ambassadors to Russia, I am reading Joseph E Davies’ pre- World War II book entitled “Mission to Moscow”. It recounts his tenure as American Ambassador to The Soviet Union 1936-1938. There is much there to discuss and I will after more research.
What I wish to convey here is what happened as result of a meeting Davies was granted just before the immediate surprise appearance of Stalin. Comments on that meeting with Stalin will be forthcoming in a later article. Here is an important observation by the erudite, learned, successful attorney and extremely talented American Ambassador.
Just minutes before the surprise Stalin meeting Davies was in counsel with President Kalinin who had observed that “Moscow was a difficult assignment for the foreign Diplomatic Corps”. Davies wrote “that I was in entire agreement with his frank statement that the position of members of the Diplomatic Corps here was difficult because of conditions which he had described. Further, I ventured to say while this situation contained disadvantages for the Diplomatic Corps, it also had real disadvantages for the Soviet government; that there was much wisdom in the statement of the old French philosopher who had said “you cannot hate the man you know” “. Davies counseled Kalinin to open up a little more to foreign diplomats so they might better know him.
Davies’ words to the Soviets. “ You cannot hate the man you know” was prescient for today’s Americans. You hate Putin because you do not know him or the Russians. The shallowness of Americans’ understanding of Russia is breathtaking.
Insights like Davies’ do not exist in the atavistic intellectual vituperation of today. And as a result we are devoid of nuclear limitation treaties broken by America! American atavistic Hate is the cause. The Hate is from ignorance. Plain and simple.
I am an American veteran and it’s hard observing this as I age. I am proud to be the son of an Italian immigrant American soldier of the greatest generation that were “Davies” and fought with the Russians. What happened? American Hate, American hate is from not knowing the person who you hate. American Profound Ignorance. American profound Hate.
“But Putin, like us, invaded another country”. Profound Ignorance not knowing ourselves , let alone Putin.
NO NUKES —Humanity
ERASE JULIAN ASSANGE’S FORCED PLEA—Justice
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER—Scott Ritter
TO UNDERSTAND RUSSIA WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND OURSELVES—Michael Basta
OPEN THE KENNEDY FILES—Americans who want to understand ourselves
Excellent. Keep opening our eyes to the events and people who preceded us in turbulent times. We want to know what happened.